Over Continued Overflows from Wastewater Treatment Plant into Allegheny River
Nearly 400,000 gallons of untreated sewage discharged into river in 2024 alone
ALLEGANY TERRITORY, SALAMANCA, N.Y. – Frustrated by continued dangerous overflows from the City of Olean Wastewater Treatment Plant into the Allegheny River, the Seneca Nation yesterday filed a Notice of Claim against the City of Olean.
“The river, which we call Ohi:yo’, has been under decades of attack in the form of the continued, dangerous, and unlawful discharges from the Olean Wastewater Treatment Plant,” said Seneca Nation President Rickey Armstrong, Sr. “The health and safety of Ohi:yo’ and the many people who utilize and depend upon its waters, including the Seneca people and many of our neighbors, must be prioritized and protected.”
The Notice of Claim preserves the Nation’s right to initiate a lawsuit against the City. The Notice focuses on separate overflows from the City’s wastewater treatment plant into the river that occurred in April and June. During the week of June 17, approximately 200,000 gallons of untreated sewage spewed into the Allegheny River for a duration of 242 minutes from the Olean Wastewater Treatment Plant. Another 80,000 gallons of untreated sewage was released into two of the river’s tributaries from the plant’s pump stations.
Earlier this year, on April 3, the plant reported two overflows which collectively accounted for approximately 186,000 gallons of untreated sewage discharged into the river.
While the Nation’s Notice of Claim focuses on the 2024 discharges, the Notice also mentions additional discharges from just the past five years which account for at least another 400,000 gallons of untreated wastewater that was discharged into the river. The overflows have caused elevated levels of fecal coliform, Escherichia coli (E. coli), enterococci, and nitrates in the river. The Seneca Nation has issued public health warnings and advisories following numerous harmful discharges from the Olean Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The plant discharges sewage, stormwater and/or wastewater into the river pursuant to a State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. Discharges in excess of the City of Olean’s discharge permit have been the subject of numerous warnings and citations from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC).
In 2001, NYSDEC issued an Administrative Order of Consent for the City to upgrade its wastewater treatment facilities in order to stop discharges into the river. To date, the City and its officials have been unwilling or unable to fully comply with the order, which has subsequently been revised multiple times to allow the City additional time. Currently, Olean has until 2042 to become fully compliant with the order and the State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.
The Nation is also considering filing an action in its own courts against the City as well as its officials, in their official or personal capacities, for actions and purposeful inactions resulting in continuing trespass on and spoilation of Nation lands and waters.
“We have a physical and cultural connection to Ohi:yo’ and it is our responsibility to defend the river,” President Armstrong said. “In fulfilling our sacred responsibility, we want to make sure that the City finally honors its own responsibility to comply with the laws and permits that call for the safe and responsible operation of its facilities. The river and the concerns of the Seneca people cannot be dismissed and ignored, leaving us to live with the impacts of the City’s illegal and dangerous discharges.”